“I Didn’t Want to Sell” – Dana White Left “Messed Up” After Promotion’s Sale, UFC CEO Opens Up 8 Years Later

The UFC CEO, Dana White has been one of the most monumental figures in the world of MMA. White’s ability to turn some new league into a worldwide sensation is applaudable and the Sharks of Wall Street observed this. Many might not know that back in 2016, Dana White and its partners had to sell the majority of the shares of the promotion.

Wall Street was observing the tremendous rise of the UFC for some years. Finally, William Morris Endeavor (WME–IMG), with Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts MSD Capital bought the promotion for $4.025 billion. Still, there’s a catch to it which the CEO revealed today.

Dana White let go of the secret

2016 was a big year for the world of fighting in general. At that time Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, and their friend Dana White owned shares in the UFC and soon these shares were going to be transferred to the above-mentioned companies for good. In Dana White’s words at that time “Sport is going to the next level.”

However, during a recent outing with Vivek Ramaswamy, White made it clear that he was not keen on selling the promotion. “What happened was when we were selling it at the time, you know, I thought that me and the Fertitas would ride off into the sunset, and I don’t know whatever was next we would do. They sit me down one day, and they’re like, “Listen, we want to talk to you. Listen, this is obviously Frank and Lorenzo, the brothers.”

He further added the catch of the deal and that was White’s involvement in the organization’s decisions. “They’re like, ‘This is an incredible deal. It’s an incredible deal for us, incredible deal for you, and a lot of other people. You’ve got to stay. Nobody’s buying this thing unless you stay. Literally, not one buyer will buy it if you don’t stay.

“You know, in the beginning, I was a little messed up with it when we did the set because I didn’t want to sell. I loved what I was doing.” White explained that at that time things were a little messy but he had to optimize for the betterment of the deal. Nonetheless, the deal was a show-breaker for the owners of the organizations as they made billions out of it. So how much money did Dana White get out of that sale?

Watch This Story: Take a look at Dana White’s XX million worth mansion

Was it really in multi-millions?

Endeavor Group Holdings, formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, in ͏collaboration with Silver Lake Partners, Kohlber͏g Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital through ZUFFA, LLC, currently owns and operates the UFC. Back in 2016 when the sale of the promotion was in talks, White was holding 9 % of the company.

White sold a portion of his shares in the company to the entities and it was later revealed that White net worth after the sale skyrocketed to a massive $500 million. It must be noted that the exact amount White got out of that deal was never made public but as per the market predictions, it was estimated that he got around $300 million to $400 million.

White’s business tactics have always worked in his favour and it still holds relevance after all these years. What’s your opinion on Dana White as the captain of the UFC?

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